You can ride around Kawaguchiko in a morning and spend the next three days waiting for Mount Fuji to come out of the cloud. That is the local joke, and it holds a grain of truth: the volcano, at 3,776 metres, makes its own weather, and the summit often hides until the cold, clear hours just after dawn, especially in winter. Lake Kawaguchiko is the most visited of the Fuji Five Lakes, sitting at about 830 metres on the north side of the mountain, in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, and the classic view is from the northern shore with the cone reflected in still water.
The lake is a place for easy-going riding more than adventure. A road runs right around it, with views across the water to the mountain and along the shore to hotels, bakeries and small museums. The traffic is thick at weekends and public holidays, when the car parks fill and tour buses crowd the corners. If you would like it calm, come on a weekday, or start before eight. Lavender flowers around the lakeside in late June and early July, and in November the maples along the shore turn red, a famous display that draws crowds of photographers with long lenses.
For a proper road, the Fuji Subaru Line climbs from the lake to the fifth station at about 2,300 metres, where the trees stop and the cinder starts. It is a toll road, and it is closed to traffic for part of the year when snow arrives and during the climbing season it is often restricted for private vehicles, so check before you set off. Higher up, the air is thin and cold even in July, and a jacket makes a lot of sense. The volcanic landscape up there is stark and strange: black scoria, stunted larch, and a view far over the plain.
Down at the lake, try houtou, the thick miso-based noodle stew that Yamanashi prefecture is known for, ladled out with pumpkin and vegetables. It is a hearty way to end a day. Fujikawaguchiko is a town of more than twenty thousand people, so fuel stations, shops and hotels are no problem. Fuji's slopes were designated a World Heritage cultural site in 2013, and the old pilgrimage routes of the mountain confraternities still leave their mark in the shrines and guest houses on the edge of the forest. The nearby Aokigahara woodland, growing over a lava flow, is a hushed and tangled place with a reputation, and best seen on a respectful visit.